Conformal radiation therapy (CRT) is a treatment method for cancer patients requiring radiation treatment. CRT is an extremely precise method of treatment delivery where the radiation dose conforms to the target and avoids the surrounding critical structures. For photon radiation, CRT is often achieved with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), whereas for particulate therapy (electrons or protons), CRT can be achieved with custom energy/range modulators. A customized solid material compensator or beam modifier may be used to modulate the intensity of the radiation beam for the patient to achieve CRT.
The customized beam modifier 10 is typically fixed to an output of a radiation device 20 directing radiation 22 to the target area 32 on the patient 30, as illustrated in FIG. 1. The target area 32 is also known as the region of interest. The customized beam modifier 10 insures that the target 32 receives the correct radiation dose, and the healthy tissue 34 receives substantially less radiation.
A radiation treatment facility generates the data necessary for treating the patient, including the data for manufacturing the customized beam modifier 10. To provide interconnectivity for exchange of the data between different radiation devices that may be within or outside the radiation treatment facility, the DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) protocol has been adopted as the standard. Since the data being exchanged is directed to radiation therapy (RT), the RT extension to the DICOM protocol is applicable.
A drawback of DICOM RT is that it is limited to the customized beam modifier 10 being fixed to the radiation device 20. In other words, the design data within DICOM RT is limited to the use of the beam modifier 10 in this configuration. As illustrated in FIG. 1, there is a gap 40 between the patient 30 receiving the radiation 22 and the customized beam modifier 20.
However, there are situations where it would be desirable to place a customized beam modifier 10 against the patient's skin. Instead of the gap 40 being between the customized beam modifier 10 and the patient 30, the gap would be between the radiation device 20 and the customized beam modifier 10. This arrangement is desirable when superficial target volumes are being treated on the patient 30. Example beam modifiers that may be placed on the patient's surface include a photon bolus, an electron bolus, and a proton range compensator.
Unfortunately, DICOM RT does not support these types of beam modifiers. Consequently, there is a need to be able to use DICOM RT to support placement of a beam modifier on the skin of a patient receiving radiation therapy.